Pappardelle With Meatballs
Thanks to my mom and grandmother, I've learned so much about the art of making great meatballs.
Equipment
- 2 rimmed baking sheet pans Lined with parchment paper
- 1 Dutch oven 6-quart with lid
- 1 saucepot 6-quart
- 2 mixing bowls Large
- 1 colander
- 1 cookie-dough scoop
- olive oil cooking spray
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Meatballs:
- olive oil cooking spray
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage Bulk-style
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1/4 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley Finely chopped
- 1/4 cup store-bought fresh basil pesto (Store-bought fresh pesto can be found in the refrigerated section where you find the fresh pasta and sauces)
- 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese Freshly-grated
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes Optional
- 1 tsp black pepper Freshly-ground
- 1 cup plain Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
- 3 cloves garlic Freshly-grated
- 2 large eggs Beaten
- 5 dashes Worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup whole milk ricotta cheese Room temperature
- 1 cup half-and-half (Start with 3/4 cup until you get the consistency of wet sand)
Ingredients for the Tomato Sauce:
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- 1 onion Diced
- 3 cloves garlic Minced
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper Freshly-ground
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsps tomato paste
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 cup chicken broth Unsalted
- 1 28-ounce can San Marzano whole tomatoes
- 1 28-ounce can San Marzano crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese Freshly-grated for the pasta
- 1/4 cup fresh basil Julienned
Garnish:
- Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese Freshly-grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.Start in a large mixing bowl by adding all the ingredients that will flavor the meat, and mix to combine. The flavoring mixture needs to have the consistency of wet sand, as shown in the picture above.In another large mixing bowl, add the ground chicken (a mixture of dark and white meat) and the sweet Italian sausage, and mix to combine. Next, add the flavoring mixture to the ground meat. Using a fork, evenly distribute the flavoring mixture throughout the meat. It does take a minute. This method ensures there's no chance the meat ends up too compacted, which prevents a tough meatball.To ensure the meatballs are the same size, use a large cookie-dough scoop. This yielded about 22 golf-size meatballs. On two rimmed baking sheet pans lined with parchment paper, lightly spray olive oil cooking spray. Scoop out the meatball mixture and roll it into golf-size meatballs. Arrange the meatballs at least 1 1/2 inches apart. Spray the tops of the meatballs with a little olive oil cooking spray to ensure they brown nicely. Bake for 25 minutes.In the meantime, in a large saucepot over medium heat, add olive oil and diced onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions become translucent, 3-5 minutes. To the onions, add the minced garlic, tomato paste, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, kosher salt, and fresh-ground black pepper. Continue stirring, and cook for another 1-2 minutes.Next, add the chicken broth. Let that come to a bubble and simmer for a couple of minutes before adding the crushed and whole tomatoes. Using the back of a wooden spoon, break up the whole tomatoes. Next, add brown sugar and stir to combine. Bring the sauce up to a bubble, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally.Once the meatballs come out of the oven, transfer them to the sauce and let everything simmer together on medium-low heat for another 45 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the fresh julienned basil, and gently stir to combine. Cover to keep warm. After 45 minutes, start cooking the pasta.In a large saucepot of boiling salted water, drop the pasta.I love to use Pappardelle for this dish. The wide ribbons of pasta have so much more surface area for the sauce to adhere to. Follow the cooking instructions. Drain the pasta well. Add a cup of freshly-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Toss the cheese through the pasta very gently, so all those ribbons get coated well. Then add a couple of ladles of tomato sauce, and toss to combine. What you are witnessing is the cheese sticking to the pasta, and the sauce sticks to the cheese. Win-Win!Finally, I finish by ladling the meatballs on top with a bit more sauce and a little more cheese. Serve with some crusty cheese bread and garnish with fresh basil.There you have it, my Pappardelle With Meatballs.
Notes
1) Tip: Use the cooking spray (a light spritz) to lubricate the cookie-dough scoop every so often. This will ensure the easy release of the meat mixture.
2) This recipe yields 22 golf-size meatballs. I'm serving three meatballs per dish. The rest can be frozen in an air-tight baggie.
3) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through a preferred online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.